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Matt Carson’s break from baseball arrived at a good time last week, and for a better reason.

The Clippers outfielder went home to Temecula, Calif., on June 24 to be with his wife, Lisa, for
the birth of their third daughter, Olivia. He rejoined the team three days later in Norfolk, Va.,
with a new love in his life and some renewed thump in his bat.

Carson backed a stellar start from Danny Salazar last night in Huntington Park with a two-run
double that keyed the Clippers to a 4-0 victory in the first game of a doubleheader against
Louisville. The Bats won the nightcap 1-0 on Mike Hessman’s fifth-inning home run.

In the 10 games since he returned from California, Carson has three home runs and 11 RBI. Still,
he left his heart in Temecula.

“It’s incredibly hard,” Carson said. “I haven’t been a dad my whole life. My oldest daughter
(Mackenzie) is 41/2 and my second daughter (Addison) is 21/2. To miss any part of their lives is
hard.

“In the six weeks that I’ve been away from them, they’ve changed. I’m sure my wife didn’t
notice, but I definitely noticed. I’m going home for the All-Star break, but after that it’s going
to be another six weeks. It’s really difficult.”

His wife, he added, does her best to keep him up to date with happenings.

“She calls me and she tells me what they did that day and the funny things that they said,”
Carson said. “I know that she’s trying to keep me informed. But it almost makes it tougher. You’re
like, ‘How did I miss that?’

“Then I have to remember that this is my job and that I’m doing the best that I can for my
family. That’s what I need to do. You balance it and you figure it out.”

Carson is not alone in missing his family. The vast majority of minor-league baseball players,
managers and coaches don’t call the city in which they play home.

Columbus manager Chris Tremie just had a visit from his two children.

“In what we do, we spend a lot of time away from our families and kids,” Tremie said. “In a lot
of cases, that’s summer vacation for them. If they can come visit or we can get away to visit, it’s
pretty special. I know my kids enjoy the time they get to spend at the ballpark. But they also like
me home.”

Like Carson, Tremie balances it and figures it out. Last night, he focused on Salazar (3-2), who
allowed one hit and struck out eight in five dominant innings, and handed Greg Reynolds (10-1) his
first loss of the season.

“He threw the ball down better and more consistently,” Tremie said. “He threw some good sliders
that started out in the zone and either went back foot or ended up in the back of the plate and got
a lot of swings on those. Those are things we’re looking for.”

The Clippers loaded the bases in the first inning of the nightcap but didn’t score. Hessman
broke up the scoreless tie with his homer off Fernando Nieve (4-2). Nick Christiani (5-2) got the
win.